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9/04/2013

Introducing My Pal, Anna Sugden

A PERFECT DISTRACTION
Harlequin SuperRomance

A face-off—head vs. heart 

For Jake Badoletti, this year is all about his career. He has a rare second chance to make the most of being a pro hockey player, so no parties, no scandals. Too bad he's met a woman who could sideline those plans. Maggie Goodman is not his usual type—right down to being a single mom. Still, the sizzling connection with this gorgeous brunette can't be ignored. 

With a little juggling and a lot of focus, Jake manages to have the game and Maggie. Then his performance on the ice suffers and a scandal erupts. Now he can't afford the distraction of Maggie…even if she is perfect for him.



Debut SuperRomance author, Anna Sugden, is a three-time Golden Heart finalist who loves reading and writing happy endings as much as hockey! When not reading or watching hockey, she loves football, good food & wine, making simple cross-stitch projects, and collecting memorabilia, penguins and fab shoes! 

A former marketing executive and primary teacher, Anna lives in Cambridge, England, with her husband and two bossy black cats. Learn more about Anna, her heart-warming romances and her shoes at her website.

LET'S GET DISTRACTED
ANGI: How often to you get lost in a story?
ANNA: As often as I can, but not as often as I’d like! I LOVE reading, but life tends to get in the way - especially now that I’m a published author with real deadlines!

ANGI: What’s your favorite fairy tale?
ANNA: Cinderella - naturally <g>. Who wouldn’t want a fairy godmother, cute animal friends who help you overcome evil, a prince who loves the real you and … fab shoes ;) To paraphrase a great quote, it shows you how one shoe can change your life! Although, a glass slipper? Seriously?!

ANGI: What sound or noise do you love?
ANNA: Children laughing and playing. One of the lovely things about where we live is that the kids can play out safely. It always makes me smile to hear them outside my office window, playing the same old games we played when we were kids and having a blast.

ANGI: Fairy Tale or Action Adventure?
ANNA: Both - even better if it’s a combination of the two!

ANGI: What’s your favorite cartoon character?
ANNA: Oooh, this is a tricky one - I love cartoons and adore animated films! Top Cat was a big childhood favourite. He’s such a cool cat! I still giggle when I catch an episode. As a Disney lover, I love Tramp (from Lady and the Tramp) and the kittens from The Aristocats - Toulouse, Berlioz and Marie.
ANGI: Who’s your favorite villain?
ANNA: And another toughie! I’m a big fan of romantic suspense and romantic thrillers, so I always love the villain I’m reading about. They each seem creepier and scarier than the last! The one that always sticks out in my mind is Tess Gerritsen’s villain from The Surgeon. We won’t mention all the sporting villains I love to hate ;)

ANGI: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
ANNA: Another tough one - I love romantic movies and am a huge fan of old movies too. For the classics, it’s a tie between Charade (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) and Desk Set (Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy). For recent films, it’s a tie between You’ve Got Mail (Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks) and Tombstone (Kurt Russell, Val Kilmer and Dana Delany).

ANGI: What is your biggest vice?

ANNA: Vice? Me? <blinks innocently> Not falling for that one, huh? LOL Well, I guess my biggest vice is that I’m a collector - autographs, shoes, memorabilia, penguins, shoes, Moomins, cats … did I mention shoes? Luckily I have a very tolerant husband who is a bit of a collector too!

ANGI: Is there a “Blooper” in your story (it may have been changed before printing)?
ANNA: I don’t know that it’s a blooper as such, but I originally wrote A Perfect Distraction back in 2007, before the explosion of social media. I had to go through and change quite a bit of the communication and news media elements of the story to bring it up to date!

ANGI’S GOTTA ASK: My friend, it's great to have you on GLIAS today, celebrating your first release with you. There are so many questions I could ask you… But I'm going to stay focused on A PERFECT DISTRACTION.  Tell us about something that distracted you will writing this book.
ANNA'S GOTTA ANSWER:  Thanks so much, Angi - it’s extra special to be able to celebrate the release of A Perfect Distraction with you, my friend!

Well, it would have to be the research. You know, I had to go to all those hockey games and practices, meet all those hunky players (some of whom were only half-dressed!), ride a Zamboni J and go round my home team’s - New Jersey Devils - arena. I could have done without the ripe aroma of the locker room, but I had a blast. You can read about some of the fun I had on my website in the ‘For Readers’ section.

FIND ANNA
Contact     Website  Facebook  Twitter @AnnaSugden
I blog on the 22nd of every month. I also post news and fun stuff on my website.

UP NEXT for ANNA
The second book in the New Jersey Ice Cats series will be out next summer. This is Tru and Jenny’s book, for those who have read A Perfect Distraction J

ANNA is giving away  a signed copy of A Perfect Distraction and a special pack of Royal Mail Jane Austen Commemorative stamps.  This is an International giveaway, so be certain to leave your email addresses.

Note: COMMENTERS are encouraged to leave a contact email address to speed the prize notification process. Offer void where prohibited. Prizes will be mailed to North America addresses only unless specifically mentioned in the post. Odds of winning vary due to the number of entrants. Winners of drawings are responsible for checking this site in a timely manner. If prizes are not claimed in a timely manner, the author may not have a prize available. Get Lost In A Story cannot be responsible for an author's failure to mail the listed prize. GLIAS does not automatically pass email addresses to guest authors unless the commenter publicly posts their email address.

DON’T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes. Join me tomorrow when I host RITA finalist Anna Lee Huber. And come back for FIRST FRIDAYS with the Crew. ~Angi

ANNA WANTS TO KNOW: Which sporting hero would you like to meet? Or, if you don’t have a sporting hero, which famous person who isn’t an actor? 

28 comments:

  1. A fun post thank you. I would be distracted by research too.

    I have A PERFECT DISTRACTION on my wish list.

    I'd love to catch up with Prince Harry. Just to have a chat & find out if we can expect another Royal wedding in the near future.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

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    1. Hi Mary! Thanks for stopping by!

      Prince Harry is a hoot, isn't he? I adore him! I bet he'd be great fun to hang out with and he'd be really interesting too. I don't think he's ready to settle down yet, despite the press latching onto the latest girl in his life. Then again, we need something to celebrate next year! ;)

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  2. GOOD MORNING ANNA !
    It's so good to welcome you to GLIAS and wish you all the best on your new release.

    This is going to be so Texas of me, but my answer is ROGER STAUBACH. I'd love to have lunch and just talk.

    ~Angi

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    1. Hey Angi! Thanks so much for having me here :)

      Even though I'm a staunch 'Skins fan, I can understand you choosing Staubach - he's always seemed like a really interesting guy.

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  3. I'd like to meet and share a beer with Richie McCaw, New Zealands top rugby player. He comes across as a really nice guy.

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    1. Hi Ruby - thanks for stopping by today!

      Ooh good choice - I love rugby and rugby players ;). Did you see that some of the NZ romance writers had the All Blacks at their conference hotel? Tough break!

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  4. David Beckham

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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    1. Great choice, bn100! The boy knows how to handle a ball ;)

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  5. Hi Angi! Hi Anna! Great interview! Anna, huge congratulations on the release of A PERFECT DISTRACTION. I'm being perfectly distracted hassling the postman to deliver it to me pronto! He's taking so long, I've decided he's kept it to read first before he brings it on to me. Sheesh! Sporting heroes we'd love to meet? I must say I think there's a couple of Aussies who have always struck me as credits to their sport - Pat Rafter, the tennis player, John Eyles who captained Australia to a Rugby World Cup back in the 90s, Kieran Perkins who was a fabulous distance swimmer. All of them were great examples as sportsmen and as people. If I go outside my home nation, I'd love to meet Roger Federer!

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    1. YAYY!! It's the wonderful Anna Campbell!! Hmm seems to me that postman is deliberately withholding the book so he can have your attentions! I just want to say that my copy of A Rake's Midnight Kiss is due tomorrow - woohoo!

      Those are indeed great credits to their sport and I'm sure would be fun to meet too. I think Roger Federer would be a fab choice - I love his grin!

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  6. Hi Anna - Loving that A Perfect Distraction is making it's way to bookshelves across the nation...but not to Anna Campbell's house. What's up with that? :-)

    You know - I'm drawing a blank on a specific player, but got to say - when I went to the Ohio State Football game on Saturday, they showed a video of the guys practising and OMG on the bulging arm muscles and six packs on those guys. I found myself routing for the skins on the basis of arms alone! Truly drool worthy.

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    1. LOL Donna, that is funny, isn't it? Perhaps she needs to bake him some of her lovely cookies!

      Why Donna - can't imagine drooling over players at practice like that ... ;)

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  7. Sounds like a terrific book!

    I would love to meet Steve Yzerman since I am a big Detroit fan!

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    1. Hi May - thanks for stopping by!

      Stevie Y is supposed to be a really nice guy as well as a wonderful hockey player. Our teams will be seeing a lot of each other this season with the new conference line-up! Should be interesting!

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  8. I'd like to meet Jill Shalvis and Kristan Higgins. LOL What can I say. I'm not big on sports but I'm HUGE on books.

    Marcy Shuler
    bmndshuler(at)hotmail(dot)com

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    1. Hi Marcy! That's perfectly fine - we love people who are huge book fans :). Jill and Kristan are awesome - such a hoot, but also really wonderful ladies. Perhaps one day you'll be able to get to one of the RWA literacy signings and meet them.

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  9. Hello Anna,
    Congrats on your debut release. You probably already know that I want to meet King Henrik/Henry. Derek Jeter is also on the list.

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    1. Hi Jane! LOL yes, I did know that you want to meet Hank - I'm surprised you haven't hung out at his bar/restaurant. It's not far from you!

      Ooh can I come with you to meet Derek Jeter? :)

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  10. I'd love to meet Peter Jackson. I'm totally in awe of his LOTR movies & The Hobbit. How does he DO it?!

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    1. Hi Linda - thanks for stopping by!

      He is amazing! I always wanted to be a film director and have been on sets to see how they work - their vision is incredible. Like watching an artist paint or draw.

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  11. I love hockey romances--can't wait to pick this one up!

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    1. Hi Lara! Yay! A hockey romance lover! Hope you enjoy Jake and Maggie's story ... and the other 3 that are planned in the New Jersey Ice Cats series - though you'll have to wait until next summer for book 2. :)

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  12. Thanks for being with us, Anna. I'll be snapping some pictures of your book on the shelf here!!

    So excited for you !!
    ~Angi

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    1. Thanks so much for having me, Angi! It was a blast! :)

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  13. I will say Troy Aikman - he is my husband's favorite player and it would make him so happy to meet him. We even have a Troy Aikman Christmas ornament he hangs on our tree each year.

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  14. Ohh, it would definitely have to be a hockey player - probably Gretzky or Sidney Crosby.

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  15. LINDA!!!
    CONGRATULATIONS!
    You've won Anna's A PERFECT DISTRACTION.
    Can you email GetLostInAStory@gmail.com?

    ~Angi

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